Sunday in the City- Our Grownup tea party at San Francisco's Crown and Crumpet

{their adorable logo}

{tea for two}

{there was a surprise in the sugar bowl}

{three-tiered plates of goodness}

{tea for two}

{buttery melt-in-your-mouth scones}

When I was a little girl, pretend tea time was one of my favorite things. Fast forward twenty-something years later, and I'm excitedly dragging my friends to the city for a grown up tea party at the charming Crown and Crumpet tea salon. The moment we stepped in the front door, we could not contain our excitement, and the phrase " this place is too cute" was probably said over a hundred times. The decor was adorable, the food was simple yet delicious, and the service was attentive and friendly, making our experience all the more whimsical. We spent the entire afternoon eating and laughing our hearts out. I left feeling incredibly happy and most definitely in the Holiday spirit with my newly purchased tea pot in hand. Crown and Crumpet, you have become one of the many reasons I love San Francisco, and I will make every excuse to come back again and again =)

Things that melt my heart

{My dogs playing chase in the remnants of fall foliage}

{Burger helping Derek edit his Law and Behavioralism Final}

{picking Derby up from his dental appointment and discovering he was still high off the meds. It's funny because he was so mellow which is so opposite of his high strung personality}

{a drawing from one of my patients. He drew it especially for me, and then gave me strict orders to hang it on my fridge at home}

It's the little things that make me the happiest =)

I'm anticipating a weekend full of Holiday festivities, good food, a shopping trip in the city, and a Sunday tea party. I live to enjoy the end of the work week!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

xoxo

ps. There's still time to enter my Holiday Giveaway =) Join in all the fun!

Pizza my love- Chanterelle and truffle cheese pizza

{these babies were almost mistaken for trash LOL}

{homemade pizza crust}

{truffle cheese nirvana! Check out those truffle bits}

{finished product!}

Now that grad school is behind me for the remainder of the year, I can finally put away the instant ramen and microwave dinners and actually put together a decent homemade meal. My long hiatus from the kitchen caused me to get a little carried away at Whole Foods, but in the end it was sooooo worth it. After I fell hard for truffles (first on our trip to Seattle, and later on our visit to the French Laundry), I decided to re-create Tom Douglas's Truffle Cheese pizza from his infamous Seattle pizzeria "Serious Pie". From what I remember, every bite was nothing short of perfection. The crust had just the right crisp to it, while the truffle cheese and chanterelles came together in harmony to form a melt in your mouth nirvana. It's THAT good I tell you. Anyways, so yeah If I was going to make a pizza, I had to be sure it had 1. truffle cheese and 2. Chanterelle mushrooms, which both unfortunately come at a steep cost, weighing in at $32.99 per lb. I almost had a heart attack when D asked me if these "rotten looking mushrooms" could be thrown out along with the other garbage for tomorrow's trash day. To my horror, when I looked up he was holding the bag of Chanterelles. It's funny now, but I'm sure it wouldn't be had he thrown it away. I'm happy to report that my attempt to recreate the best pizza ever was pretty successful. We've eaten it for two nights straight, and now I think I'm on some kind of truffle high!

The recipe is simple:

I used this fool-proof (and I say this because I was able to make it) thin crust recipe courtesy of Kitchn.

• 1/2 cup good quality mozzarella cheese (shredded)
• 1/4 cup truffle cheese (the non-goat cheese kind)
• 1/2 lb chanterelles

1. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees

2. Lightly grease your pizza pan with vegetable oil then set your crust on top

3. Sauté your Chanterelles with olive oil in a pan on medium high heat for approximately 4 minutes.

4. Top your pizza with the Chanterelles, add a pinch of salt

5. Sprinkle 1/4 c of mozzarella, followed by 1/4 c of truffle cheese shavings on top

6. If you're feeling crazy, add a dash of truffle oil

Bake for 10 minutes until golden, and voila! Enjoy =)

D and I like it with plenty of red hot pepper flakes!

ps. Don't forget to join in on my Holiday Giveaway!! The more the merrier ;)

xoxo

Holiday Giveaway!!

{okay, I may be going a little overboard with the holiday spirit here haha}

Thank ya'll so much for your sweet and encouraging comments from my last post. It really means a lot to me, and I feel so much more motivated to get the holiday spirit going! I've decided to jump start my holiday high with a fun giveaway =)

Last week I was able to snag a handful of my all-time favorite eyelash curlers from E.L.F. These coveted little gadgets are a hot commodity because they produce such high quality results, and could battle a designer brand any day! So, now that I have a few in my possession, I am gifting 2 of them plus a batch of homemade holiday cookies to two lucky readers!

You have three chances to win! Here's how to enter, it's super easy! :

1. Add me as a friend by becoming a follower of my blog (via google friend connect) on the right hand sidebar. If you're already a follower leave me a comment telling me that you have already done so.

After becoming a follower, you can enter two more times by:

2. Mentioning my giveaway on your blog (dont' forget to notify me if you have done this)

3. or Leaving a comment on this post

Enter before next Monday, December 14th for a chance to win =)

(the winner will be selected by random.org)

Bittersweet Holidays

For the past few years, I've been having a really difficult time getting into the Christmas spirit. It just isn't the same anymore without my mom here. I miss her cooking and the way we used to wake up to the smell of her cooking big elaborate breakfasts during the holidays. She was the best hostess, and threw the best parties, so good that my friends would ditch their own Christmas gatherings to come celebrate with us. Things are pretty different now. My dad, sister, and I have tried to avoid Christmas like the plague, but as expected, we found it to be an insurmountable task.

Today as I worked from home, I couldn't help but realize that Christmas is coming at full speed ahead. Everything from music to t.v., and not to forget the blogosphere is saturated with the holiday spirit. I felt like such a Grinch as I caught myself frowning at all the hoopla, and hated myself for doing so. So this year, instead of being a big fat Grinch, I'm going to make a serious effort to let go of painful things in the past, and sit back and enjoy the time I have with the people I love. I really and truly want to love Christmas again, I really do.

(i'm starting by participating in MerrySitsmas hosted by SITS !)

A nice quiet weekend for a change

{Saturday morning: D made me breakfast! I thought it would be the day the earth stopped spinning, but I pinched myself and it was really happening. It was delicious, and I'm looking forward to many more breakfasts from him (can I order a side of back massage too? lol ) After his good deed, he proceeded to watch 2 championship college football games and a Rockets game... like sports much? }

Sunday in the City ~

{I heart flower shoppes}

{our first visit to "That takes the Cake" Bakery, it definitely won't be our last}

{D and his "hella nutella cupcake", after this picture he declared it the best cupcake he's ever had"}

{this is a horrible horrible picture, but I had to post it because of how good their red velvet cupcake is. It is SUPER MOIST and the cream cheese icing is just right! Dare I say better than Sprinkles red velvet? YEP!}

{the rain started coming down so we rushed to our car. I love this action sequence. The flowers are gorgeous, oh and so are you derek lol}

{a couple saying goodbye. It was too sweet}

{on the way home. notice how it is only raining just a few feet ahead of us}

I had such a nice quiet and relaxing weekend. Unlike the past several weeks of nonstop travel, I was able to stay home and enjoy the company of my sweet boys. I slept in, was treated to a full service breakfast from Derek, and finally finished the last of my final papers. We spent the better part of Sunday in San Francisco enjoying a yummy organic Italian lunch, grabbing a couple lattes, and trying out a new cupcake bakery: "That Takes the Cake", which has quickly become our new favorite =) Shout out to the owners Brian and Keisha Williams who were so sweet and friendly to us!

I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner, and just as I had promised, I have a Holiday giveaway to announce this week =)

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Dear Santa...

{This is how I look like when we go on vacation}

{Leica D-LUX 4- this camera makes me swoon}

Ello there Santa,

I know I already own a kajillion cameras, but I've been a really good girl this year and I think a Leica D-LUX 4 would be a really nice addition to my growing collection =) There's something about that little red dot that has beautiful pictures written all over it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed ;)

xoxo,

Missy

ps. I make a mean chocolate chip cookie!